Gavaskar questioned Kohli’s temperament at a time when India were chasing a gigantic 444-run target. He reckoned that the 34-year-old should have shown restraint and compiled a big hundred to put India in the driver’s seat.
Gavaskar also criticised Pujara for going against his nature and getting out while trying to execute an uppercut off Pat Cummins. He opined that Pujara must have been asked to play aggressive cricket by the management.
“The batting was in shambles today, it was just ridiculous what we saw today, the shot-making. The shots yesterday from Pujara, you would never see such a shot from someone like him. Maybe somebody would have gone to him and told him ‘strike rate, strike rate’. So he was looking to do the strike rate business,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“Today, some of the shots you played, how can you expect to win? 8 wickets and you have not lasted a session, come on!”
Gavaskar also added that Kohli might have felt nerves by realising that he was just one run short of his fifty. The fall of Kohli’s wicket triggered a massive collapse and India were bundled out on 234 to lose the match by 209 runs. The team added just 70 runs to their overnight score and lost seven wickets on the final Day 5.
“Yes, pretty ordinary shot, outside the off-stump. He had been leaving till then. But then he flashes at one, maybe he was conscious of the fact that he needed 1 run to get a half-century. Happened to Jadeja I think, he played a delivery he shouldn’t have in the first innings.
“Today, Ajinkya Rahane 46, he hadn’t played that shot. Suddenly, why do you play that shot? I think in Test cricket, you should not be aware how much you are batting on. I know different batters have different approaches.
“It was a bad shot. You’ll ask me how he did that. I think you should have asked Kohli what shot he played? That was a shot outside the off-stump. If you are to win the match, you need long innings, how do you get to a century if you are going to play a shot for a delivery that was so wide outside the off-stump,” Gavaskar added.